Proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
Known as the Washington Criminal Code
The act spans §§ 9A.04.010 to 9A.98.020 (401 sections).
Applied in 21 court decisions — leading case 98 Wash. 2d 484 - State v. McCullum (1983)
Most recently applied in State Of Washington, Res/cross-app. V. Mical Darion Roberts, App/cross-res. (August 2024)
2011 c 336 s 349; 1975 1st ex.s. c 260 s 9A.04.100.
Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(1) Every person charged with the commission of a crime is presumed innocent unless proved guilty. No person may be convicted of a crime unless each element of such crime is proved by competent evidence beyond a reasonable doubt.
(2) When a crime has been proven against a person, and there exists a reasonable doubt as to which of two or more degrees he or she is guilty, he or she shall be convicted only of the lowest degree.
Official source: Washington State Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Washington statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.